The Rattlesnake turns armchair booker

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

For all you newbies on the forum, I'm better known by the name "The Rattlesnake" because that was my name earlier. Hence the title of the thread. With that out of the way, let's get down to business.

Once upon a time, I had this flawed notion that I could do a better job than the current booking team and since I'm an arrogant jerk, I still hold on to that notion. So this thread will consist of some past, present or future angles which I think I could book better than the chumps employed by WWE. Maybe, I'll do a good job. Or maybe I'll look like a deluded fanboy who eats cheetos out of his hair. Either way, it'll be fun especially if it's the latter.

The first installment in the series will be a rebook of the Rock vs CM Punk feud that took place in the lead up to WrestleMania. Are you up for the ride?

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

What went wrong?

I've heard a lot of self designated experts say this over the years that wrestling with a huge star is a big rub and one should not complain no matter what. Part of this is correct, but some of this is absolute crap. Yes, wrestling with a huge star can give you a huge rub, but only if the storyline is compelling enough. Think about it. Did Hart vs Austin succeed because it was just a talented young superstar wrestling an established star or did it succeed because of a riveting storyline that led to some of the coolest moments that had ever been seen till that point?

Rock vs Punk was a potentially huge feud in my opinion. Yes, it was always going to lead to Rock/ Cena, but that does not mean that Punk had to be reduced to an afterthought. Especially when you had a huge wildcard in The Shield. Yet, that is exactly what happened. There were two matches and both matches had some special stipulations but they did not end up being used at all! In the end, I believe Punk did not come out looking better and Rock...well...The Rock was on another plane of existence much before this feud started.

What I would have done?

Right, here comes the fun part.

Like I said, The Shield was a huge factor here. They had been interfering in Punk's matches for some time allowing him to walk away with the win. I would have had Vince come in and announce much before Rock came into the picture that Punk would be stripped of the title if The Shield interfered in his matches.

So what would Punk have done in this situation? He would try to get rid of the stipulation. We now come to The Royal Rumble where Punk is facing off against Rock. Heyman is at ringside for the match. We have some huge spot, probably a Punk elbow drop on Rock on the announce table and both guys are out.

The lights go off and we here some noises. Cole shouts out "The Shield" on commentary and when the lights come back on, both Rock and Punk are lying in the ring. McMahon comes out to disqualify Punk when we see The Rock slowly moving towards Punk. He covers Punk and gets the victory. No one is sure what has happened.

The next night Paul Heyman comes out stating that his client was robbed. He took a picture on his phone of The Shield attacking Punk. He shows the picture and Punk comes out and states that The Shield was actually assembled by The Rock in order to take out all the competition before The Royal Rumble so that he could win the belt at the PPV. What would follow would be a string of great promos by Punk where he would try to paint Rock as the bad guy and berate the fans for supporting him. The title would be vacated and the stip against Punk would be removed.

The Rock would obviously have none of this. I'd have him demand a steel cage match at the next PPV to prove that he does not need any interference to beat Punk. Punk would accept having figured out the "lights off" formula and knowing that The Shield would be there to help.

At the next PPV, the lights go off midway again but when they come back on The Rock is standing, The Shield is nowhere in sight and Punk looks flabbergastered. Cena pops up on the screen and says something like "Hey Punk! Looking for The Shield. Well, they're just a bit busy now." He does the "You can't see me" shtick and the camera pans backstage to show a all the babyfaces in the WWE blocking The Shield's path.

The Rock then just destroys Punk. Two Rock bottoms and a People's elbow later, The Rock just walks out of the door of the cage leaving Punk inside. As he poses at the top of the ramp Cena comes out and they stare at each other to end the show.

Why do I think my idea's better?

Firstly, I think that it gives The Rock more of a challenge to overcome. It shows that Punk, by some means or the other, can hang in with The Rock. The fans loved Rock winning the belt but they would have loved it more had he been made to work harder for the win.

Secondly, Punk's basically an iconoclast who chases conspiracy theory. The Rock being the bad guy is the ultimate, most unthinkable conspiracy theory. Punk's promos would have been golden and I'm sure that he would have gotten a few smarks on his side as well by claiming how The Rock did not deserve to be in this spot.

Thirdly,we have some cool moments. The babyface team holding off The Shield would have been fun to see. Furthermore, it enhances the value of the belt. It shows that Punk is willing to get himself attacked by a three man team in order to hold on to the belt.

And finally, it adds to Rock/ Cena. Cena could claim that Rock won the belt but only with Cena's help.

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So what do you think guys? Did I do a good job or did I fail miserably? Do leave your comments?

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

I don't know how my first installment in the series was received but I'm hoping some of you enjoyed it, either because of how horrendous it was or maybe perhaps it was better than what the WWE booking team dishes up. Either way, this is the second part and it's on a topic that has been grabbing a bit of attention.

Lesnar vs Bryan. This match may not happen at Mania this year but that hasn't stopped fans from talking about it. While some fans consider that this match could be the ultimate underdog story, some fans thing that Bryan winning would be downright ridiculous, something that I completely disagree with. Anyhow, I'm not interested in match itself, but the story leading upto it. Because, let me reiterate, the story makes the match, in most cases. Here's how I would go about it.

What I would do?

Bryan wins at Fast Lane and the next night on Raw, Lesnar comes out with Heyman. Heyman brings up how Brock has defeated everyone worth beating and how pro wrestling isn't interesting for him anymore, because there's no challenge. Therefore he's going to leave the company after WrestleMania. Heyman brings up how Lesnar once went to a company in the far east, won their biggest title and left with it, thus destroying the company from within. He'll say that is exactly what Lesnar will do at WrestleMania 31, he'll do something that will cripple WWE forever. And what makes him so certain that he will achieve his goal? That is because his challenger is Daniel Bryan.

The basic buildup would be about how Bryan stands no chance against Lesnar. Next week there should be a weighing in segment with Heyman on commentary. That segment, if done well, could be very much worth watching.

Enter Vince McMahon, who's completely losing it. He tries to get Bryan to give up his title shot so that someone else gets to face Lesnar at WrestleMania. He first approaches Cena, who gets screwed over by Rusev and then he goes to Orton who gets screwed by Rollins again.

The reason why I'm not giving Bryan a clean victory here is to make him seem like an underdog even more. He should go into the match with people believing he has no shot against Lesnar.

Bryan wins and HHH gets blasted by Vince for letting things come to this situation. He promises that if Lesnar wins at Mania, he'll be fired from the company. HHH promises that Lesnar will not leave Mania as the winner because even if Bryan loses, Seth's going to cash in on Lesnar at that very moment.

There should be lots of interviews as well of other legends and contemporary wrestlers in the build up to this giving their thoughts on this match. Most will say that Bryan has no chance but you could have Cena and a few others believe that Bryan will find a way.

You know the rest of the story. Have Bryan win at WrestleMania in a 30 minute war. Vince McMahon comes out and raises Bryan's hand thus cementing him as THE MAN in WWE. You can have Seth come out and cash in at that moment, thus beginning the story arc for 2015.

Why this works?

People have been telling me that Bryan has already had his big WrestleMania moment and that there's nothing that could top that. I think that the moment when Vince raises his hand as the man who saved WWE, could very well topple that moment. What could be bigger than the boss himself acknowledging that he was wrong about Bryan all along?